


Dumbledore's Army: Character Studies

by fade_like_starlight



Series: If You Try Sometimes [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Character Study, Dumbledore's Army, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 17:45:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7693651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fade_like_starlight/pseuds/fade_like_starlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The relationships between the members of the DA fascinate me. These came out of wanting a bit more background on each character than I could fit in the actual fic I'm writing. It amazes me that these kids spent 7 years together, four in moderate peace, one year learning to be soldiers, one on the edge of a knife and the last fighting a secret war, and we have no idea how they feel about each other. These are all separate, but they go together. All PG, all DH spoilers, all rough and un-beta-ed.</p>
<p>originally written late 2007</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dumbledore's Army: Character Studies

**Author's Note:**

> Character Studies based on 'If You Try Sometimes'.
> 
> Originally written 2007 and posted on Livejournal. Reposted here because I want a full collection of all my work.

**Michael Corner**

Michael is allowed to get away with more than he should, on account of rescuing a first year and nearly being tortured to death. The girls fuss over him a bit more, and the boys listen to him a bit more. He likes to purposely annoy Lavender, because she's funny when she's cranky, and she's funny when she thinks she shouldn't be cranky at him. He's dark and serious and smart, and it hides a chivalrous streak that nearly put him in Gryffindor. After the Carrows nearly kill him, to the surprise of everyone, he's a bit lighter. He laughs more easily, and he blows off homework to sit by the lake with Lavender. They all know he's overcompensating for the pain hidden deep in his eyes, but all they can do is let him get away with it.  


**Ernie MacMillan**

Ernie used to think his bloodline meant something. Generations of pureblood MacMillans, stretching back for centuries. It used to mean something when he was eleven. And then Justin was attacked, Petrified for the crime of nothing more but his family name. Ernie knew that Justin's family was important in the Muggle world, and if that were true, what would happen if their situations were reversed? Ernie's name means nothing in the Muggle world, and really, Ernie's name has meant nothing in the wizarding world since he was twelve. Ernie stands by Harry Potter because Harry saved Justin, a Muggleborn who apparently meant nothing, save the fact he is Ernie's best friend. And now, with Justin hiding among the Muggles, and Harry hiding from everyone, Ernie will stay and fight for them. He likes the DA, even if the Ravenclaws are a bit uppity and the Gryffindors are a bit gung-ho. To his surprise, he likes Seamus' company - with Dean also in hiding, Ernie suspects Seamus feels lost and useless, too. Terry becomes his new Potions work partner, and his work improves immensely. Parvati has always annoyed him. He thinks she's fluttery and gossipy, and he's always thought she was useless. Parvati, in turn, thinks Ernie is pompous and lame and that he acts like a 37 year old, not a 17 year old. They're both wrong, of course, and they both hate to admit it, but deep down, they're still comrades, and they'd still do anything to protect the other.  


**Susan Bones**

Susan holds herself a bit aloof. She's always felt a little older, a little more mature, a little sadder. She knows other people lost family, too, and she knows her story has nothing on Harry's, but still. People have always treated Susan differently, being the only child left from the famed Bones family. Still, she genuinely likes her classmates, even if she finds it hard to simply join in with them. She prefers to work alone, and often conducts raids that the others don't know about until the Carrows are screaming at breakfast. Ginny Weasley tries to draw her in, tries to make joint plans, but then Ginny leaves, and Susan slowly fades back to the edges.  


**Lavender Brown**

Lavender knows they all see her as the silly girly girl. She's the first to admit that she is, really. She knows Michael antagonises her on purpose, and she knows Mandy and Hannah and Parvati are always up for a gossip session. She opens her heart and keeps them all close. She mothers them and she takes care of them and she knows when to dole out an all-encompassing hug. She makes the little kids giggle and she comforts the big kids. She matchmakes, and it makes her happy to see the others pair off. She follows Michael to the banks of the lake and she flirts coquettishly, knowing she can never erase his shadows, but that she'll always try. She knows that Padma is Parvati's true sister, and she knows that given the choice, Parvati would save Padma over Lavender. It makes her sad, because she treasures Parvati over everyone.  


**Parvati Patil**

Parvati knows that Lavender is wrong. Padma is her blood sister, her twin, her other half, but Lavender is Lavender. There aren't words to describe Lavender, except that Parvati would drown without her.

Parvati is dark intrigue, cutting words and cold elegance. She's the counterpoint to Lavender's blonde kindness, and Ginny's red passion. She's the action to Padma's thought. Ernie used to be right - she was once useless, nothing but show. That changed when Amycus Carrow laid a wand on her. She started the year fighting and she plans to end the year fighting. She only wishes she'd listened to Hermione a little more. Divination had never predicted this. Never predicted she'd spend her nights cleaning wounds on her tortured classmates, that she'd feel the Cruciatus wracking her bones on an almost regular basis. Never predicted that she'd miss Hermione's annoying presence with an ache that never left, or that she'd wish she'd been a little more forgiving to Harry, a little more accepting of Ron. Divination had never predicted her guilt.  


**Anthony Goldstein**

Anthony watches them all and wonders why he was chosen to lead them. He's Head Boy, but he always feels second to Neville. Neville is braver and stronger and a better leader, but maybe that's why. If Anthony is distracting the teachers, Neville is free to lead the rebellion. The decoy never gets much credit, and Tony may be a Ravenclaw, but he thinks maybe he's finding his inner Hufflepuff. If that's true, his outer Hufflepuff is Hannah, the Head Girl. Hannah stands next to him and backs him up and gives him so much strength that he thinks Helga knew exactly what she was doing when she founded her House. Hannah is everything he needs to get through this year, and when she stands with him and looks Snape directly in the eye while giving the Carrows false reports on the students' activities, Tony loves her, just a little bit.  


**Padma Patil**

Padma keeps out of trouble. She thinks it's important that one of them stay safe, stay responsible. Besides, if she were in detention with them, who would Heal them? Once the Carrows turn the hospital wing into a luxury, not a necessity, Padma appoints herself as the DA Healer. She's not as experienced as Madam Pomfrey, of course, but she does her best, and she needs to believe she's making a difference. She's no Gryffindor, and she doesn't harbour tendencies towards heroics like Michael and Terry, but she is smart and capable, and so she uses it. She never cries in front of her patients, she fixes broken limbs and heals cuts, but she can't heal broken spirits. She needs Neville for that, and he's more than capable. Padma doesn't know what caused the change in him, but she knows they're all grateful. It's Neville she cries in front of, Neville and Parvati when she sneaks into Gryffindor after caring for Michael, emotions drained, tears streaming. She hasn't been punished like the others, but she takes on their pain every time she cares for them. She almost can't bear to look at Michael after that, but he deserves her respect. He lets her see the pain he shows no one else, and she won't let show how much it breaks her.  


**Seamus Finnigan**

By the luck of the Irish, Seamus is half magical. By the curse of the gods, Dean is Muggleborn. It's a tiny difference that never meant much before, like Seamus' accent, or the colour of Dean's skin. They just didn't care. But this year, that tiny difference means everything to Seamus. Dean's not there.

So he goes on. He cracks jokes, and he sexually harasses the Ravenclaw girls, because the Hufflepuffs blush and run away. The Gryffindors just hex him. The Ravenclaws give back as good as they get. He smuggles in Firewhiskey and gets Ernie pissed and dares him to snog Parvati. He swears in class, his favourite Muggle curses, and he takes his punishment. He goes on raids with Neville and he teaches the third years dirty limericks. He keeps up morale, even when he doesn't have any of his own, because he is Seamus and it's what he does.

And if he could just see Dean again, just know he was alright and making it through, it'd all be worth it.

**Hannah Abbott**

Hannah's mum was killed by Death Eaters last year. She hates it when people refuse to acknowledge that. Hannah's dad is Muggleborn, technically, as the son of a Muggle and a Squib. But he has magical grandparents, so the Ministry had no choice but to free him. He wanted to take Hannah and her brother far away, but Hannah is nothing if not Hufflepuff to the bone, and she refused. Hannah is loyal, and Hannah is fiercely protective, and she has chosen to protect her adopted family. She often thinks the lion is all wrong for Gryffindor; it's the Hufflepuffs who protect their cubs like stalking lionesses. And Hannah is a lioness. She's Head Girl, and she uses her position. She gives the teachers incorrect reports on her fellow students, and she stares Snape down, lying to his face. She organises meetings and makes sure the first years keep to their buddy system. Hannah is a lioness, and they killed her mother. She protects her cubs and vows they will not kill her family again.


End file.
